Michelle Luria didn’t expect to start over. But now, from her Norfolk apartment overlooking the Elizabeth River, she describes a life filled with new experiences and community.
“I love it here,” she says. “The people are so lovely, intelligent, well educated, well-traveled. Just really nice to be around.”
In fact, she says, “I’ve always loved Virginia. The first time I came here, I was nine years old. I visited Williamsburg.”
After a lifetime in Birmingham, Alabama, Luria and her husband, Herbert, moved to Tidewater approximately four years ago to be near their daughter, Elaine Luria, who had made Norfolk her home. Not long after the couple’s move – about a year later – her husband died following a long illness.
Luria’s roots in Birmingham were deep – a city where she, along with her late husband and daughter, were all natives. There, she was extremely active in Jewish communal life, serving in leadership roles with organizations such as the National Council of Jewish Women. She was also involved in the arts, volunteering for decades at the Birmingham Museum of Art as a docent. In addition, Luria was a Blue and Gold officer for the Naval Academy where she interviewed candidates and helped them through the application process. In fact, 25 of her candidates were accepted to the Naval Academy and all graduated.
When she relocated, however, she says she was ready to step back.
“I had done so much volunteer work. I was ready to take a rest.”
In Norfolk, Jewish life looks different but is still familiar in feeling. She is a member of Ohef Sholom Temple and speaks warmly about the congregation and Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg. She attends services roughly once a month, often with neighbors, and occasionally joins Sisterhood events.
Much of her social life, however, is rooted in the broader community of where she lives, at Harbor’s Edge. She has also joined the American Friends of Lafayette and travelled to France, New Orleans and Richmond with the group.
“I just talk to people,” she says. “That’s how I meet everyone.”
That ease of connection has become the foundation of her new life. She rarely eats alone, instead making daily plans with neighbors and friends. Jewish or not, she describes the community as deeply welcoming.
Looking back, she doesn’t hesitate when asked about the move.
“It was definitely the right move for me,” she says. “There are so many wonderful things to do here – you can’t even imagine.”
And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to have her daughter’s family – Elaine, Robert, and Violette – close by.